Advanced Introduction to Finality
Plot End tag Evil Troy and Evil Abed are hosting an evil version of the "Troy and Abed in the Morning!" show. After introducing their special guest "Evil" Ben Chang they present a glimpse into another timeline - the timeline in which Abed went to get the pizza, i.e. Timeline 5 - featuring an alternate Troy and Britta. They proudly show off their child who they have named "Chewbacca". Evil Jeff then interrupts the show to remind Troy and Abed that it's not real. When he leaves Evil Troy and Abed sing song their signature sign off. Morty's Steakhouse In the Season One episode "English as a Second Language", Jeff mentions an "unmovable appointment" he has on May 23rd, 2013 at Morty's Steakhouse when he would presumably be graduating from Greendale. This throw away line foreshadowing a possible air date for a Season Four finale had long been the subject of speculation among the fandom who waited years to see if the show would actually reach that target date. Ultimately the finale aired a few weeks earlier on May 9. On Community's official NBC Twitter accounts for all the characters (seen HERE) this missed appointment was addressed by Jeff and the study group. Recurring themes Continuity *'Previously': **Jeff made it clear he was graduating early at the start of the Fall semester in "History 101". **The Darkest Timeline was created in "Remedial Chaos Theory," introducing us to the characters' evil counterparts. The evil characters' plan to take over the "Prime Timeline" was referred to by Evil Jeff in the end tag of "Intro to Knots." *'Familiar faces': **Mark, Jeff's partner from his old law firm, returns previously seen in the episode "Heroic Origins". **Evil Jeff, Evil Annie, Evil Britta, Evil Troy, Evil Shirley, Evil Abed, Evil Pierce and Evil Dean return. **The Greendale Human Being shows up for Jeff's graduation ceremony. *'Returning students': Neil, Vicki, Leonard, Garrett, Quendra, Magnitude and Todd return for Jeff's graduation ceremony. An image of Star-Burns is shown on a flyer promoting a tree planting ceremony in his honor. *'School supplies': **The Yahtzee die makes a return appearance. **The paintball guns return upgraded with new laser sights, barrel extensions and painted black. **The Foosball table is seen when Jeff plucks the paintball out of the air that Evil Jeff fired at him. **Jeff's underwear makes its final appearance being worn by Evil Jeff. *'This must be the place': The restaurant/bar from "Heroic Origins" returns, Group Study Room F is featured, as is Dean Pelton's office, Troy and Abed's apartment, the cafeteria, Shirley's Sandwiches and the Student lounge. * Climax: After four years of attending Greendale, Jeff finally graduates and gets his diploma. *Winger speech: Jeff gives a graduation speech where he is almost at a loss for words. *'Discontinuity': **Jeff states in the Season One episode "English as a Second Language" that he is on a tight four year schedule to replace his Bachelors Degree. In this episode he receives his Associates Degree after graduating. **Among the posters Abed sees after finding himself in the Darkest Timeline, there's one about Greendale Seven. Since Pierce was believed to have died right after the timelines diverged and the study group weren't nicknamed the "Greendale seven" until much later, the poster should have said "The Greendale Six". Running gags *'Annie's Boobs/Fan Service': Evil Annie appears wearing a tight-fitting, strapless, low-cut red dress. Evil Jeff arrives in the Prime Timeline wearing only his underwear. *'Britta'd': Evil Britta messes up explaining how to win to Evil Pierce who shoots himself. *'Deanotation': Pelton says he has to sign his "John Deancock" on Jeff's degree to make it official. *'Man crush': When signing Jeff's degree, the Dean says he's going to miss their playful, "get a room already" banter. *'Nice outfit': **The Dean is wearing a graduation cap and gown that has a higher hemline than normal. **Later, the Dean wears a wedding dress. *Troy and Abed in the Morning!: Filmed in the Darkest Timeline. Pop culture references *'IMDb': In an alternate timeline Troy and Britta name their son Chewbacca which Britta thinks means "one who hunts bounties." *'TV Guide': Evil Abed asks Abed if he wants to watch Season 3 of The Cape stating it was never cancelled in the darkest timeline. *'Use your allusion': **Evil Jeff arrives in the "Prime Timeline" in a glowing sphere wearing only his underwear. This is similar to the way time travel is done in the "Terminator" film franchise. Evil Annie later reveals he chose to arrive in the Prime timeline that way as he could have worn clothes. **A close up of Jeff testing out his mechanical hand is similar to the same shot used in "The Empire Strikes Back" when Luke tries out his new prosthetic hand. ** Jeff stopping the paintball bullet and examining it is a reference to The Matrix in which Neo does the same with bullets. Meta references *'Background check': During Jeff's graduation ceremony behind Dean Pelton is a chalkboard and written there are the words "SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE". The episodes writer Megan Ganz admitted on Twitter that she was the one who wrote that there. Production Cast and crew departures Call sheet leak Reception Critical reaction Writer Megan Ganz had this to say about the finale before it even aired during a Reddit AMA she participated in : Ratings Ratingswise, "Advanced Introduction to Finality" was up a tenth over last week, earning a 1.5 rating/5 share in the 18-49 demo. On Twitter, #OriginStory trended in the US and worldwide, at one point hitting the top spot on the US trend list and continuing to trend for at least 15 minutes after the episode ended. Quotes Category:Season 4 Episodes Category:Community Episodes Category:Darkest Timeline Category:Paintball Assassin Category:Season Finales